Posted at 1:00 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle -½ +123 BET365  -½ +125 Sportsinteraction  -½ +125  888Sport  -½ +125

N.Y. Rangers -½ +125 over Tampa Bay

7:07 PM EST. Regulation only. The Lightning return from the All-Star break after ripping off three wins in a row to bring their record to 27-18-5, which has them sitting third in the Atlantic division, seven points back of Florida for second and just one point up on the Maple Leafs and Red Wings who both sit one point back of the Bolts. Tampa is a team that has plenty of pedigree, and it was on a tear going into the break with a 10-3 record, including a three-game winning streak, but a closer look shows that the Bolts racked up quite a few of those wins against lesser competition like the Coyotes (26), Philadelphia (25), Buffalo (22), Minnesota (19), and Anaheim (30).

Momentum is a funny thing, and while the Bolts are on their best run of the season, the last thing they needed was a week and a half off. Meanwhile, the Rangers have not won three games in a row in two months, and they are coming off a relatively poor January where they won just five of 14 games; however, the Rags lost two of those games in overtime and two more by just one goal. Four of those losses also came against quality competition in Vegas (8) twice, Vancouver (9), and Carolina (3).

The Rangers already have a game under their belts after they edged out Colorado in overtime at home at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. Situationally speaking, that is the primary reason we are here, as there is potential to profit with the Rags already having their sea legs, while the Bolts could be flat after 11 days off. The layoff is not something that was lost on Mika Zibanejad, "It's one win, but we get a little bit of a restart. We've talked about it. We wanted to get a good start coming off this break and we got the win, so now we've got to keep going." Even if the Bolts aren’t flat tonight, we are in a position to “sell high” on them while “buying low” on the Rangers after they had a rough month at the office, which is just another box we can check.

Sherwood

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